Tim Watson

Sometimes I create art. I used to write code. Now I micromanage.

This piece is meant to be reminiscent of an industrial factory dashboard. My new reality. After thirty years of web development, I have mostly stopped with raw, line-by-line programming. It's been an amazing journey from typing code out of magazines to watching LLMs spit it out instantly. I’m awed by the capability, mourn a little for the loss of the craft, and find myself in a new role: micromanager of agents.

Each Claude session gets a slot. When a prompt is actively processing, the light twinkles green. AI finishes and becomes idle, the light turns red. A visual reminder that the machine is waiting on me. More reviews, more prompts, more tokens.

In addition to AI coding up the hooks to manage Claude session status and microcontroller bits, the wood backing and frame were cut with a robot (CNC router), the LED sockets printed by a robot (3D printer), and the lettering stencil cut by a third robot (vinyl cutter). Defining what is art is a blurry line.